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Chicago Tribune

STEM-A-Thon is all fun and games for Boys & Girls Club members

From robots to a live version of Angry Birds, about 200 Boys & Girls Clubs members from throughout Lake and Porter counties got to try their hand at STEM activities Monday. 'They're learning something and may not even realize it, they're having so much fun,' Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana President and CEO Mike Jessen said. New this year at the second annual STEM-Thon was a chance to use a real surgical robot brought by Northwest Health. No one was operated on at Urschel Pavilion in downtown Valparaiso; the kids – grades 3 and up – got to test their manual dexterity in guiding the robotic instrument. Violinnie, an East Chicago club member, said her video gaming experience helped her control the robotic device well. Other groups, including Urschel Laboratories and the Valparaiso and Portage high school robotics clubs, also offered ways to interact with robots. Urschel's Esmerelda Torres was one of 50 volunteers at the event, guiding the kids as they raced robots across a playing field and spun the robots' heads 360 degrees. 'You may think it's easy, but it's a 360-degree control,' Torres said. 'It's fun. I like how it moves. It's kind of hard to control,' said Benjamin, a member of the Duneland club. 'You get to control it and make it do fun stuff.' Benjamin's brother Nolan, who also attends the Duneland club, enjoyed it when the robots collided. He found it easier to control, he said. The high school robotics teams allowed kids to use the robots the teams use in competitions. The kids also used claw bots to stack cones, testing their manual dexterity at the controls. The teams also set up three coding stations to allow kids to experience coding at a very basic level. Jonathan, a member of the VHS team, said the kids had to solve some errors intentionally included to advance the robots through the maze. James Kirk, a VHS robotics teacher, said it's important for kids to keep up with the progression of technology. Then there's the fun factor: 'Who doesn't want to play with robots?' Outside Urschel Pavilion, in front of Central Park Plaza's Northwest Health amphitheater, United Rentals volunteers helped students use a giant slingshot to shoot balls at a stack of cardboard boxes to see if they could knock them down, a game reminiscent of Angry Birds. No actual birds were involved. Little changes in the altitude of the slingshot make a big difference in the outcome, United Rentals representative Aishling Wigmore said. 'United Rentals likes to give back,' Wigmore said as she rattled off a long list of charities the company supports. 'We're big believers in giving back and teaching the community.' One of the other games involves shooting foam balls out of plastic pipes with various bends included as kids assembled them. Izayah, a member of the Portage club, enjoyed the game. 'I was trying to make it go really high,' he said, as others chased the balls flying far and wide. Marina Kirova, director of education and academic programming, is the architect of the event. 'It's teamwork, definitely, because all of our departments in this organization work together,' she said. Planning began soon after last year's event. 'This is not meant to teach kids in the moment,' she said, but to show them that STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – principles are in play in everyday life.' Signs at each table explained the concept behind each game, but Kirova doubted all the kids read them. They were too busy having fun. STEM experiences came naturally to Kirova. She's accustomed to finding screws, wires and other odds and ends in her pockets at the end of the day, the detritus from working with kids on STEM activities. When she was young, Kirova wanted to be a doctor. 'If I couldn't do it, at least now I can show it to someone else. At least they can do it,' she said as she discussed the Northwest Health exhibit. Kirova works with the Portage High School robotics team as a judge adviser. 'In the last 10 years, they always get to the world competition and win some kind of award,' she said. Jessen said the event is a fun end-of-summer activity. It's mid-July, but school starts in August in many communities. 'The goal is to bring all these kids together from our 10 different clubs' and let them interact with each other, Jessen said. The STEM-A-Thon allows the kids to learn and sparks their interest 'with a heavy, heavy dose of having some fun,' he said. 'They're engaged, they're listening, they're really respectful.' The event lasted four hours, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 'Hopefully, they'll be well educated and tired from the fun they've had' on the bus ride back to their home club, Jessen said. Summer is a busy time for the clubs. Kids can be there as long as 11.5 hours a day, from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Staff work hard to make sure their time at the club is interesting and fun. 'What I hear from the kids is they don't want to go home. They're excited to stay at the club,' he said.